Ask Me Anything
by emmylouuwho
Summary: Post series 5. A lockdown traps Becker and Jess in a room together. Sort of a sequel to 'Rescued' but can be read alone.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Written for the _Just Kiss Her Already_ prompt, 'Rex escapes the menagerie, causing the ARC to go into lockdown. Becker and Jess end up locked in an empty office together (pre- or post-ship).' I don't have an LJ anymore, so I'm posting it here. Enjoy!

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><p>The topmost box of files she was carrying began to teeter, and Jess immediately froze. She eyed the offending cardboard object with something akin to panic. She really did <em>not<em> want to have to pick up all these freshly organized files off the floor and reorganize them.

Jess had spent the better part of the last three hours cataloging and filing the interview transcripts from the investigation into the New Dawn incident into these two boxes. And these were only the notes from the team members who were present. She hadn't even gotten to all the ARC employees who worked on projects associated with Prospero, as most of them were still being interviewed. The Minister's office insisted on hard copies as well as the electronic ones, so Jess had been stuck with the job of secretary for the last week. She was at the point where she almost wished for an anomaly, just so she could get back to her real job. Almost. She could never truly hope for something that would put so many people at risk, including people she cared about. Now she was taking the latest files down to one of the storage rooms, where they would sit until someone from the Minister's office came to claim them.

Using her chin and thumbs, Jess tried to scoot the errant box closer to herself, out of danger. But the cardboard handles were starting to hurt her fingers, and one hand slipped, causing the boxes to dip to one side precariously. Just as she was about to drop them both, a weight lifted, and she was able to hold onto the box left in her hands. When she'd gotten a firmer grip, Jess looked up with an appreciative smile to the person who'd taken the second file box off her hands. Right into Becker's face. His highly amused face, complete with that infuriating eyebrow.

Despite the delighted flip her stomach made - as it always did - at the sight of him, Becker was possibly the last person Jess wanted to see just then. Not to mention the last person she wanted to have to accept help from. She was tired and cross, and liable to snap at any moment.

Since her run-in with that beetle from the future, Becker had begun treating her as though she might float away on the slightest breeze. And since the destruction of the New Dawn facility, it had only gotten worse. Becker barely spoke to her unless he had to, and then it was only about work, or to question whether she was 'up for' whatever was happening. She'd faced down future predators for God's sake! She could deal with the day-to-day adventures, and misadventures, of the ARC.

The smile on her lips faded slightly, and she said, "Thanks. Could you just..."

She gestured with her chin for him to give her back the box, but he simply tucked it under his arm and said, "Where to?"

"I can manage, Becker. Thank you, though," she responded in the best possible normal bright sunny Jess voice she could muster. It fell fairly flat.

"It's no trouble."

"No, really. I'm sure you have other things to do."

"I'm going this way anyway, if you just-"

"I can take care of myself!"

The harsh words came out much louder than expected, and seemed to echo off the walls, quickly followed by a _thud_ and _whoosh_ as Jess lost her grip on the box in her hands. It fell to the floor, and manila folders and endless pages of transcripts slid onto the concrete. Jess just stared at the sight for a second in dismay.

"Damn it," she muttered, suddenly on the verge of tears.

This wasn't her; she was irrepressible, optimistic Jess. She didn't snap at people. Ever since the incident with the future predators, however, she'd been on an emotional roller coaster. She was glad at least that no one else was there to witness her meltdown. No one except Becker, of course; the person to whom she most wanted to appear capable.

Jess sank to her knees, silently cursing the short skirt that was not helping in this endeavor, Becker, the Minister, whoever invented cardboard, Becker, antiquated bureaucrats who refused to acknowledge the twenty-first century, Becker...

She looked up to see him standing in the same spot, still holding that damn box, his normally expressionless face now a mixture of concern, confusion, and disbelief. He looked almost afraid to help her, lest he incur more of her wrath. Jess sighed, and went back to gathering stray papers and stuffing them haphazardly back into the cardboard box on the ground beside her.

"I know you can," Becker said after a few seconds, his voice soothing, as though speaking to a child or a crazy person - both of which she felt were accurate comparisons for her current behavior.

"Can what?" she asked distractedly, keeping her eyes on the floor in front of her.

"Take care of yourself." This time his voice took on an almost pained tone. He crouched down before her so he was at eye level. When she finally looked at him, the overriding expression was one of concern.

"Then why have you been treating me like an infant lately?" she asked, trying desperately to hold onto her righteous indignation in the face of those warm hazel eyes, just inches from her own. "Ever since what happened... with the... and Lester getting hurt, you, and everyone else really, have been acting like I can't do anything for myself."

Becker sighed, looking down at his hands hanging between his knees.

"I just didn't want you to feel overwhelmed, after everything that happened here last week." He paused, his lips pressed into a thin line. "Abby mentioned you were upset, even considering leaving," he continued in an undertone, as though afraid of saying it aloud.

Jess' eyebrows shot up. "She told you about that?" She pushed a stack of papers into the box with unnecessary force, muttering, "I am going to _kill_ her."

"Jess, she was concerned about you, and she's trying to help. You might try letting her."

Jess looked up to find him smiling that tiny half smile that made her knees go wobbly. Shaking herself, she fixed him with a quizzical look, eyebrow arched.

"I never expected to hear that coming from you. Have you ever considered taking your own advice?"

Becker ducked his head.

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><p>"Here," he said after a moment, nodding toward the doorway to his left. It was an empty office, one that had never been assigned to anyone, so all it had was a standard desk and an empty file cabinet. "We can get this mess organized on the desk in there."<p>

Jess opened her mouth to protest, or to insist she do it herself, but he held up his hand. "I am not suggesting you are in any way incapable, Jessica. This" - he gestured at the untidy stack of papers between them - "is my fault and I want to help sort it."

Jess looked at him a moment, then shook her head with a small smile on her lips, and stood to her feet.

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><p>"I thought you hated paperwork," Jess said as she began to put the files into separate piles across the desktop. "In fact, I seem to recall you offering Connor twenty quid to finish a report for you."<p>

"It all depends on the company, I suppose," Becker replied, eyes on the sheet of paper in his hands. He didn't see the blush creeping up Jess' neck, or the pleased smile she quickly suppressed.

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><p>"Did Matt really say that? To a government official?" Becker asked, peering at the interview notes. He was shaking his head, but grinning broadly. Almost proud of the team leader he so frequently tried to best.<p>

Jess snatched the paper out of his hand, trying not to giggle. "You're not supposed to read that!"

The two of them had been companionably working through the stacks of files for about half an hour, and were nearly finished, when it happened. All the lights dimmed, the flashing red of an alert flashed in the hallways, and the door behind them made an ominous _click_ing sound.

"That's not an anomaly alert," Becker said, staring at the locked door.

"No, it's something much worse," Jess replied with a sigh. _Not again_. "That's the lockdown alert."

Becker immediately tapped his earpiece. "Connor, what did you do?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Sorry this took so long. I meant to have it up yesterday, but post-traumatic stress Jess is hard to write, Becker wasn't cooperating, and Connor kept popping up in scenes like a daggone whack-a-mole... In short, still not happy with this part, and it's really long, but just let me know what y'all think.

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><p><em>1:24 PM<em>

"Connor, what did you do?"

Connor's indignant voice came over both his and Jess' comms. _"Why does everyone automatically blame me?"_

"It's a fair assumption," Becker replied, shooting Jess a long-suffering look.

"_Well you _were_ the one who left the door to my office open,"_ Abby's slightly irritated voice interrupted. _"That's probably how Rex escaped."_

"_How is that my fault? Technically he's not supposed to leave the menagerie."_

Jess hissed in a breath. Connor would be in trouble for that one. She'd learned fairly early on it was better to cut off Connor and Abby's bickering before they built up too much momentum. If they were allowed to carry on too long, it was almost impossible to stop them. So before Abby could respond, Jess broke into the conversation.

"Can we focus on fixing the problem first, please? Connor, are you in Ops?"

"_Sadly not. I'm stuck in the locker room. All I've got is my mobile, and I can't do anything about the lockdown with that, can I?"_

Jess chewed her lip, thinking. She didn't even have a phone. Hers was out of batteries; she'd been planning on picking up the charger from her locker on the way back from the storage room.

"What about you, Abby?" she asked hopefully. If she needed to, she could walk her friend through the process of lifting the lockdown.

"_No luck. I'm in the corridor outside my office, watching Rex soar around the next section of hallway."_

Jess sighed. _Well, _she thought. _At least we don't have to worry about the oxygen being sucked from the room anymore._ She and Connor deleted that protocol from the lockdown program after the disaster last time.

_"At least one of us is having fun,"_ Abby added, almost to herself.

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><p><em>1:31 PM<em>

"_I left a message, but he's not supposed to be back this afternoon,"_ Connor said after calling their boss.

Jess hung her head in defeat. Lester was the only one, apart from the Minister, who could lift a lockdown from outside the ARC. They could've overridden the lockdown from the ADD, but as most people were on their lunch break when the lockdown occurred, the hub was deserted. Lester was at physical therapy after his injury as Jess, the ARC's personal secretary, knew. Matt had taken Emily to take her driving test earlier that morning. Lester demanded that she have a license before she was allowed to drive any of the ARC vehicles. So, for now at least, they were on their own.

"_I guess we just have to wait for Lester. Let's just hope there aren't any -"_

Jess interrupted him with a loud, "Don't say it!"

"_Alright, sorry,"_ Connor's voice huffed over the comms. _"Where are you anyway?"_

It was Becker who answered. "In one of the offices on the third floor."

"_Both of you? Together? Oh, that is brilliant."_

"Temple," Becker practically growled warningly, but Connor was not to be deterred.

"_Don't forget there are cameras in there, you two,"_ he said, giggling like a twelve-year old. _"Don't do anything you wouldn't want caught on film!"_

Jess felt all the blood in her body rush to her face and said in a squeak, "Connor!"

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><p><em>1:46 PM<em>

There wasn't a desk chair in the office, so both Jess and Becker sat on the floor against the wall, at least a foot of empty space between them. Jess thought about sitting on the desk, if only to save her skirt from the inevitable layer of dust, but that seemed a little too forward to her overly anxious mind. After what Connor had said, and implied, she didn't want to give Becker the impression that she was, well, expecting anything. Not that she'd mind... But Jess had long ago despaired of expecting anything but friendship from Becker. No matter what her instincts and everyone else told her, nothing ever happened.

Jess stared at the clock, at the door, at her shoes, at anything but Becker. God, she wanted to strangle Connor sometimes. He could always be counted upon to turn a bad situation into something infinitely worse, and more awkward. Letting out a huff of air, she absently clacked the toes of her shoes together.

"Wishing yourself back to Kansas?"

Jess looked over at the uniformed man next to her in surprise. She found it hard to believe that Becker, who was at that moment armed and wearing a kevlar vest and combat boots, would ever reference _The Wizard of Oz_. "I wouldn't have pegged you for the musical type, Captain."

Becker chuckled.

"Anyway, I highly doubt these shoes are magical," she continued. "Even though they are one of my favorite pairs."

Silence descended over them again.

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><p><em>1:50 PM<em>

Jess was sitting silently next to him, and all Becker could think about was the moment Abby had pulled him aside. _'Jess is having a rough time of it. She's even thinking about leaving.'_ His first thought was that he would do anything to help Jess, to get her to smile again. The thought of not seeing her every day, possibly never again, was like a sucker punch to the gut. Not having her in his life was inconceivable. Seeing Jess so sad and uncertain was painful enough for him. He missed her cheerful grin, her over-the-top neon-colored outfits.

It seemed that Jess' choice in clothing was tied to her moods, because the past week she'd taken to wearing more subdued tones - chocolate brown and pastel pink, dark grey and royal purple, even _beige_. Until yesterday, Becker wouldn't have thought she was even aware there was such a color. As much as he teased her about her impractical shoes, Becker missed that part of her - the impractical, whimsical Jess. He wanted that Jess back, or at least he wanted to make this current Jess happier. Do something to help her.

'_I can take care of myself.' _Her words echoed in his mind. Jess didn't need him. She didn't need him, but oh, how he needed her. He needed her caring attitude, her optimism when the losses of the job began to eat away at him, her laughter when he took himself too seriously._ 'I can take care of myself.'_ She didn't need him, not even to protect her. It was Jess who diffused a bomb, who defended herself and Lester from the predators that infiltrated the ARC, who shot a tiny beetle from across the parking deck. And that was in the midst of a near-fatal allergic reaction. She was much tougher than she looked, than Becker had originally thought._ 'I can take care of myself.'_

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><p><em>2:15 PM<em>

Jess could tell that Becker was itching to do _something_; he was the type who couldn't stand to wait. He always wanted to do something, anything, to fix any problem that cropped up. Before she could think about it too much, Jess spoke.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he replied, sounding a bit uncertain about it. Then he added in a lighter tone, "For today only, I'm an open book. Ask me anything you like."

"Do you ever think about doing something else?"

Becker turned to her with a confused frown. "What? Quit the ARC?" He sighed. "I tried that once, remember? It didn't stick."

Jess let out a disgruntled huff. "No, I mean, did you ever want to be, I dunno, a doctor or a lawyer or a teacher or something?"

Becker cocked his head to one side, considering. "I know I could never be a teacher. I can barely put up with Connor. A room full of teenagers might be my breaking point."

Jess smiled, looking down at her hands to hide her disappointment. Becker always turned facetious to avoid talking about anything personal. She should be used to it by now, but he always seemed more open around her, more himself somehow.

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><p>Becker watched out of the corner of his eye as Jess laced and unlaced her fingers in her lap. He always felt like he could be himself around this irrepressibly optimistic girl, and yet here he was, deflecting her questions. Perhaps because, more than anything, he didn't want to let her down. But Becker could see now that he had.<p>

Letting out a sigh, he said seriously, "I never thought about being anything but a soldier. My dad was a soldier, and my grandfather, and his father. It was sort of the only option."

Jess looked at him with something akin to concern, or maybe pity. "You had a choice though, didn't you?"

Becker was silent a moment. "Not at first. My father wasn't the easiest man to grow up with. It didn't help that I was an only child." He smiled ruefully. "Lots of responsibility, carrying on the family tradition and all that. So I never really considered a career outside the military."

"What did your dad say when you resigned?"

"That I was being an idiot." Jess looked horrified. She couldn't know that it was simply his father's way, to be appallingly blunt in his opinions. It was giving the opinion that mattered; if his dad didn't care, he'd simply keep his mouth shut. "He said I shouldn't quit, that I could still do good here. Jess," he continued, causing her to look over at him again. "What is this really about?"

Jess looked away, biting her lip.

"Is it true? Are you really leaving... the ARC?" he asked, almost fearful of the answer. Becker had to stop himself from asking if she was leaving him. He didn't have the right. And it was all his own stupid fault.

He wasn't sure what response to hope for. Well, that was a lie. He wanted her to stay, obviously, but that was almost entirely due to the fact that he looked forward to seeing her every morning, and as often as he could throughout the day. She would certainly be safer working somewhere else. At a job where the low point of her week was a server crash, not nearly being torn to bits by an impossible creature from the future. Then again, all the civilians who had been killed by creature incursions were in supposedly safe workplaces. Wouldn't she be safer at the ARC, with Becker and his soldiers there to protect her? He had a feeling that was simply his jealous, inappropriately possessive side rearing its head again.

Jess was silent for so long that he was sure she wasn't going to answer at all. Finally she said, so softly, "Truthfully, I don't know."

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><p><em>2:28 PM<em>

"Truthfully, I don't know."

She didn't. She loved her job, loved the feeling of actually making a tangible difference in the world. Then Jess would remember that dreadful moment with the predators, her heart would start to race, and all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball in her bedroom and never come out again. That was no way to deal with a problem, but she couldn't seem to separate one feeling from the other. At least not yet.

Jess snuck a look at Becker's face to find him staring straight ahead, his jaw clenched. She recognized this as the look he had whenever he was trying to bury his emotions and remain detached.

"I know you didn't ask for my opinion, but I think you should stay. We need you here."

Then, the expressionless mask seemed to crack. He hung his head, and, in an undertone so low she almost didn't hear it, he added, "I need you here."

Jess was fairly sure she wasn't meant to hear the last bit, so she kept her mouth closed. Her heart, however, began to pick up speed, and her stomach gave a delighted lurch.

Connor's voice in her ear caused Jess to jump.

"_Guys? Lester called, and he should be here in about ten minutes."_

"Thanks, Connor," Jess replied.

"_Anytime. Hope you and Action Man are comfy up there."_

"Connor, shut up," she said fiercely, hearing a strange echo that she realized was Abby saying the same thing. If his fiancée didn't get to him before her, the first thing Jess was going to do was find Connor and stuff him into one of the lockers. Well, maybe the second thing. The first thing she was going to do was sprint all the way to the ladies' room.

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><p><em>2:40 PM<em>

The office door's electronic lock clicked open, and Jess breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank God."

Becker watched as a blush crept into her cheeks as she realized how her words sounded. Then he waited, expressionless, as he always did, to see how long it would take her to become tangled up in her own words. She was hilarious when she was embarrassed, not to mention adorable, digging herself in deeper as she rambled. Always saying much more than she meant to in an attempt to clarify her original statement.

"Not that I didn't like being trapped in here with you, well the trapped part not so much. Especially trapped with nothing to do. I hate that. Anyway, what I mean is the company was nice, it's just that my bladder is about to explode."

With that, she rushed out of the room. Becker chuckled, shaking his head. That was Jess, through and through.


End file.
